Blog Archive

About Me

I am a happy and honest person and generally like to live by my rules. Sometimes though I tend to go into bouts of manic depression and then I have to bank on the phoenix within me to help me out.... I thought to create this blog for everyone who needs a phoenix now and then, as a place to rejuvenate, or as Holden Caulfield would say, as a 'Catcher in the Rye'. I want it to be a small portal for people like me who are also on the path of self-discovery. All are welcome here to share their experiences and views. Thanks.

Friday, March 26, 2010

.....Aligning with natural rhythms… realize
Like the phoenix… we will always rise

Over and over, it will always be
The flame of truth sets us free
Just as we accept our terrible demise
Unquenchable human spirit cannot help but rise

The cycle of life cannot be denied
Despite the false notions, coded inside
In the midst of the ashes, hear these cries
“I am the phoenix of old, and I continue to rise”
“I am the phoenix… and still, I Rise!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Venus, the goddess of beauty, originally Astarte in Phoenician mythology, is tracing the Phoenix constellation. The stars and galaxies shown are from the actual celestial sky. The star dust used by Venus is the nebula clouds that shows the phases of star birth. The galaxies shown around are NGC300 and NGC55. Also you can trace the Double Cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud around the Phoenix constellation.

The painting was completed fall of 2007.

[ See other paintings by the artist at http://www.tonysky.net/tony/]

Venus Tracing the Phoenix

as narrated by Antoine Faddoul

The inhabitants of the land far south could not see the splendor of the Phoenix nor hear its beautiful sound. In one Fall, and in order to share its tale of the will of rebirth, the Phoenix used November winds to help it flying so high over Mount Lebanon, and it lapsed between the stars.

The firebird kept traveling to the starry heavens every night until in the seventh night, Venus (Astarte), the Goddess of beauty, decided to trace its figure with the stars to spread the Phoenix story for all people.

Until now, people who live far south (in the Southern Hemisphere) can still view the Phoenix constellation in the sky for most of the year, and those who live in Lebanon can see it in the Fall, the actual time it made its trip to the stars..

Flight of the Phoenix (original version) is one of the whole time great movies.

James Stewart plays a pilot who feels responsible for the deaths of several passengers after a forced landing in the desert. He and the rest of the survivors are eventually persuaded by Dorfmann (Hardy Kruger) to attempt to build an aircraft from the remains of the old one.

The movie says something special about the nature of machines, particularly aircraft. Although they may look refined, immaculate, often beautiful, in fact they are constructed of an extraordinary quantity of precisely worked components. Each part has been made to its particular shape to serve its particular purpose. None of it occurred accidentally, somebody sat down and designed every last tiny part.

Dorfmann, the aircraft designer, has to figure out how to make a plane from what’s left intact of the old. He must come up with a design that’s viable. He has to work everything out, how the old plane must be torn apart, how the parts of it will be moved around, and how they will be reassembled, how the controls must be rigged. In reality this would be an almost superhuman feat. Could a real life aircraft designer do such a thing? Would a real aircraft designer have covered ever step of the production life cycle. But Dorfmann’s company makes model planes, and Dorfmann has always had to design everything on his projects.

Moreover, and most important of all, Dorfmann must present the case for building the Phoenix, and see it through. Dorfmann demonstrates real steel, for a time he and he alone believes in the job and recognises the importance of seeing it through. Dorfmann is commited to the point of obsession, as true genius requires.

With Dorfmann's character, the movie teters on the edge of credibility, the introspective Dorfmann is something special, not only did he design the airframe of his world class models, but also the radio control. Improbable stuff? Perhaps, but the movie is saved by great story telling. The survivors decide to go for it, rather than sit on their arses and die, they take a chance on the 'toy plane' builder.

In fact, many full size aircraft designers have been model plane builders. Charles Fairey had a job as a power station engineer before selling, for a considerable fee, a model design of his to Gamleys Toy Store. Then he moved into full-size aviation and eventually ran a 'little' company called Fairey Aviation. Sydney Camm, responsible for the Hurricane fighter, was also a modeller, and most recently Burt Rutan, who even borrowed some his construction techniques from aeromodelling (hot wiring foam etc). As Dorfmann puts it, flying models are not toys, they obey the same physical laws as the full sized ones. Moreover, they don't have a pilot to keep them straight and level. In fact, Dorfmann would have prefered it if he could have managed without the pilot, James Stewart's character, Frank Towns

Towns must surrender his authority to Dorfmann, so that the new plane can be built. Towns doesn’t believe the plan is feasible but he is persuaded that engaging in the project is better than letting them sit around waiting to die. Throughout Towns rails against Dorfmann but always Dorfmann is right and Towns wrong, yet Dorfmann knows he needs Towns’ skills to fly the plane.

After many problems the plane is ready and Towns must start it up and fly. The point where Towns climbs aboard and pulls the ladder up behind him is very sweet. This is where Towns takes the plane away from Dorfmann. Now he must use all his knowledge to get the engine started.

The engine can only be started with a Coffman cartridge starter. Dorfmann feels that Towns would intentionally not get the engine started, so he can't kill more of them in another crash. But if the engine doesn't start Towns will have failed as a pilot AND they'll all die of thirst.

Towns starts the engine and is seen to have knowledge that Dorfmann doesn't have. In one sense getting the engine going is the end of the story, Towns has made his choice, finally committed wholeheartedly to the project, and in doing so got his self respect back.

And now, with the motor going, the Phoenix has ceased to be a collection of useless parts, it’s become the difference between life and death and every one of them has made a contribution.

Paul Mantz, a veteran stunt pilot who had worked with Howard Hughes on Hell's Angels was killed flying for this movie. As a result the actual flying shots look a bit truncated. It's a great pity, but Mantz died doing the work he loved, and when you gotta go, that's not a bad way to do it. Moreover, this is a wonderful movie, Mantz could hardly have wished for a better final credit than Phoenix.